That Thing Called Time
by HighlandPark
Summary: Snape doesn't die in the war, thanks to Harry's hand. When the wizarding world won't leave him alone after discovering his role as a spy, he begins to see Harry's point of view and they form a friendship. Will be slash.


Hi everyone! Here's my first attempt at a story, I'm working on chapters 2 and 3 already. This first one doesn't go into too much plot that doesn't at least revolve around canon, but please review and let me know what you think... I'm totally new to this. As for this story, it's canon until page 745 of Deathly Hallows... I managed to keep it canon right up to the very end. :) The first paragraph IS from the book, that's why it's in bold - it's not mine. It's just to give you an idea of where this story picks up.

Disclaimer: Although I really really wish I did, I do not in fact own Harry Potter, any of the characters, or anything to do with the books/movies. Those rights go to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, etc.

And once again, Please Review! :)

**And before he could say a word she had cried, "Ooh, look, a Blibbering Humdinger!" and pointed out of the window. Everyone who heard looked around, and Harry slid the Cloak up over himself, and got to his feet.**

He looked at the nearby tables, seeing Ginny, Ron and Hermione all sitting together with the rest of the Weasleys. He began to make his way over to them, then changed his mind. He knew where he wanted to go, and he wanted to do this alone. Slowly he made his way back to the headmaster's office, once again acknowledging the broken and battered gargoyle that had once stood guard.

When he reached the office, he saw the pensieve still on the desk with the memories of Snape's still swirling in it, exactly as he had left it. Dropping the Cloak, he hurried across the office, staring down into the shimmering silvery substance. He did not know how long he stayed there, contemplating the memories he had seen earlier.

_He really was on our side_. Learning that piece of information after believing the complete opposite for so long was a shock to him. He knew it shouldn't be. After all, the man had been a successful spy; if he could fool Voldemort, of course he could fool Harry.

Retrieving the Cloak and covering himself once more, Harry made his way through the castle, out onto the grounds. He ran across the grass to the Whomping Willow, thanking Merlin the tree seemed to be too tired of the fight to attempt killing him. He hurried through the underground passage, still not entirely sure what he was doing. When he reached the shack, however, he stopped dead, staring at the dead man on the floor. The memories from the pensieve came flooding back to him as he stared at the lifeless black eyes, remembering the look of happiness in them when Snape had been talking to Lily, the look of despair when he told Dumbledore of the prophecy. And Harry realized with a start that never before that had he seen emotion besides anger and hate in those black eyes. He found himself wishing to see anything in them now.

As Harry reentered the castle, he quickly sought out Professor McGonagall, who was all too happy to talk to him when he said he needed help.

"Professor, do you know if there are any Time Turners available?" The look of shock on Professor McGonagall's face was to be expected, Harry realized.

"Why… why yes, I have one in my possession, but whatever do you need it for, Harry? You're aren't thinking of going back and doing this again, are you?" She looked positively alarmed now.

"No, no, of course not. I just need to go back about twenty minutes. You see, me and Ginny…" Harry trailed off, not knowing where he was going with this. McGonagall appeared to have made some sort of assumption, however, because she smiled softly and told Harry to follow her.

Upon reaching her office, McGonagall rummaged around in her desk and pulled out the small piece of glass with its golden chain attached.

"Here you are, Potter, now remember not to turn it too far…"

Harry put the chain around his neck before taking a deep breath and turning the piece four hours back. He really had no idea how far to turn it; his sense of time during the battle was non-existent. However, four seemed like it should be plenty. The last thing he saw before the room dissolved was the look of horror on McGonagall's face as she rushed towards Harry, hand outstretched. But it was too late. The room refocused, and Harry found himself in the middle of a violent battle once again.

The next twenty minutes were horribly stressful, as Harry fought his way through the battle, praying no one would notice that two of him were present. Where was the other Harry, anyway? Then he saw himself along with other DA members casting patronuses on the front lawn.

_ No!_ _I'm going to be too late!_ He sprinted across the grass and dove for the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack. Too late he realized he had no way to hide himself - the other him had the Cloak. And then he was in the Shrieking Shack. He could see the back of Voldemort's head, but where was Snape? He stifled a gasp as he felt a tap on his head… surely he was going to die… _Wait, what?_ He recognized the cool, somewhat disconcerting feeling of the Disillusionment Charm. Eyes widening, he whipped around to see Snape staring at him. He felt his heart rate slow down, and quickly backed up into a corner of the shack, praying Snape knew what he was doing.

"My Lord, their resistance is crumbling…" Harry recognized the dialogue from earlier that night and quickly turned his focus to the snake, and just how the hell he was going to save Snape. He really hadn't thought this through very well, had he? Ha. Forget well, he hadn't thought this through at _all._ Oh, well. How unusual.

Suddenly Harry caught the movement of the Elder Wand as Voldemort slashed the air, moving the snake towards Snape. His stomach rolled. He knew what was coming.

"_Kill." _

_ "No!" _Harry shouted at the snake. Time seemed to stop. "_Don't kill him! Please!" _Harry begged the snake, only to crumble in defeat as the snake's fangs pierced Snape's neck, causing him to scream in anguish. At the same time, Harry waited in fear for Voldemort to aim his wand at Harry. However, he did nothing of the sort, instead turning to leave the shack.

"I regret it." He said simply. He stared in disbelief. _That's impossible! I yelled!_ He then turned back to Snape, who had collapsed to the floor as Voldemort exited. He glanced up upon hearing Nagini.

"_It was a dry bite_."

Harry startled; he couldn't believe the snake had listened to him over its master. To hell with the whole Voldemort ignoring him thing, he had to figure out what to do with Snape first. He waited impatiently as his other self took the memories and then left. Once the coast was clear, he quickly scrambled over to the seemingly lifeless Snape, watching in dismay as the blood continued to seep from his neck.

_Wait a minute…_ Harry, although not too knowledgeable about medicine, knew dead people didn't bleed. So if Snape was bleeding… Harry rushed into action, taking out the Elder Wand that he now possessed.

"Episkey," he whispered, barely daring to hope as he watched the wounds on Snape's neck begin to close. He then levitated the man and - wait. He couldn't just walk out of the shack; the battle was still going on. _Maybe apparition?_ He tried to sort through his options. _Naw, too risky with his condition. But _damn_, he lost a lot of blood!_ Harry realized he had no other choice. The Disillusionment Charm must still be effective if Snape was alive, so he only needed to hide Snape's body. He decided to keep the body low to the ground in hopes that no one would notice.

When he reached the castle doors, he quickly cast a Notice-Me-Not Charm on Snape, deciding it couldn't hurt, and hurried across the Entrance Hall with the immobile body. As quickly as possible, he made his way to the Infirmary, hoping Madame Pomfrey would be there and be able to assist.

Luck was on Harry's side, yet again. He released the Charm on Snape as he entered, and realizing he was invisible, decided to speak.

"Madame Pomfrey, it's Harry! Please help; I don't know how much longer he'll hang on. He was bitten by Voldemort's snake."

"Dear heavens, boy, where are you?" Madame Pomfrey nearly shouted.

"Oh… I'm right beside him, he cast a Disillusionment Charm on me…" Harry's voice faded as he felt the charm lift.

Madame Pomfrey quickly put Snape onto a nearby bed, bustling about to grab a Blood Replenishing as well a pain relieving potion and a healing salve.

"What happened to the wounds? They look partially healed. He shouldn't be alive after a bite like that!" Madame Pomfrey seemed incredulous.

"Oh yeah - it was a dry bite. Nagini told me." Harry said, as if that explained everything. The nurse stopped what she was doing to stare at Harry for a second before resuming her work, shaking her head in wonder at the boy.

"Well in that case he should be able to pull through this," she informed him. The sense of relief Harry felt was overwhelming. _At least I've been able to save one life tonight then,_ he thought wryly.

"Dear, shouldn't you be fighting or something?" Madame Pomfrey's question brought Harry back to the present.

"Oh! Yeah well, I am. I mean, the other me. I-" The confused look on the nurse's face caused him to give up. He held up the Time Turner as explanation. A look of comprehension dawned on Madame Pomfrey's face before she became baffled once more.

"You came back in time to save Severus? Or to help us win? I…" She trailed off in bewilderment.

"I figured if I could save even one life, it would be worth it," he answered, feeling this was the best explanation he could give at the time.

"Well, do you come in here later tonight? Should you be going somewhere else?" Her question confused Harry at first until he realized what she meant.

"No, I'll be fine. I stay outside mostly, except for going up to the headmaster's office." Madame Pomfrey nodded in satisfaction at that before going back to her work. Harry watched as she efficiently bandaged Snape's neck after applying the salve. She then gave him a second dose of blood replenisher before hurrying back to her office.

Harry stared at Snape. Why on earth did he feel the need to save Snape, of all people? Why not Fred, or… could he still? Harry's heart jumped at the thought before he realized that Fred had died before Snape. But back to that thought… why Snape? Harry decided he would never know, and went back to watching the man.

Harry had been dozing for a little while when a sudden hacking cough awoke him. He quickly reached for his wand before realizing it was Snape, who had woken up. He stared in shock at the black eyes meeting his.

Snape opened his mouth as if to speak, only to start coughing again. "Are… are you dead, Potter?" Snape managed.

"No…" Harry was confused. Why would Snape think him dead?

"Then… I am not either?"

Oh. Well, that would make sense, sort of. "No, Professor. You're alive."

"I could presume as much. If I am not dead, then I must be alive. Even your brain should be able to handle a concept as black and white as that, Potter."

Yup, it was Snape, as good as new. Harry didn't even try to answer. Instead, he looked away as if to find something more interesting. Suddenly he heard an anguished cry.

"No!" could be heard in the distance. Harry felt his stomach drop; he would always remember the sound of McGonagall's despaired scream.

"What in the name of Merlin was that?" Snape looked around, bewildered.

"That… that was McGonagall. Yelling for me. Because she thought I was dead."

"Potter, for once, could you project a thought that actually makes sense?"

Harry then spent the next twenty minutes or so explaining the entire story to Snape. He told him of how he took the memories and watched them before going out into the forest. He told him of the ring and how his parents, Sirius, and Remus had appeared and stayed with him. He saw Snape cringe as he described Voldemort's taunting him before casting the curse. He went into detail of his and Dumbledore's conversation, and of how Narcissa Black had lied for Harry. When he finally reached the part of the story where he told Voldemort of Snape's true allegiances, he faltered. What would Snape say? Would he hate Harry for bringing him into the final confrontation?

"Did you forget already?" Snape's drawl interrupted his train of thoughts. Why the hell not? Harry continued with the story, ignoring Snape's dramatic eye rolling as he described his final words with Voldemort.

"But how do you already know all this? And you have been sitting here the entire time, Potter. Your actions and words do not make any sense."

"Oh, yeah!" Harry quickly pulled the Time Turner out of his shirt and revealed it to Snape, whose face showed a momentary bout of shock.

"You used the Time Turner to come back and save me. How very heroic of you, Potter. If you are expecting an emotional and heartfelt episode of thanks, you may leave."

"No, sir. I… honestly, I don't know why I saved you. I just knew I had to." Harry said this very quietly, as if he wished he had not spoken it at all. An annoyed sigh and the back of Snape's head was all he received in response as the man rolled onto his side and went back to sleep.

Quietly, Harry made his way down towards the Great Hall, wondering how much time had passed. As he rounded a corner, he was forced to jump back into an alcove to hide from Professor McGonagall and himself as they hurried towards her office. Harry grinned, then followed at a distance.

"Here you are Potter, now remember not to turn it too far…" As he heard those words, he made his entrance, just in time to see himself disappear as McGonagall lunged forward in horror. She then looked up in surprise as she heard the door, and saw Harry standing there with a smile on his face. She seemed to have difficulty breathing as she stood there gasping for a moment before coming to stand in front of him.

"How dare you endanger yourself like that! You already made it through that battle once, and you had to go back and do it again! Potter, I am telling you-" She was cut off by Harry grabbing her hand and pulling her forward. She looked at him in utter amazement.

"Come up to the infirmary, please?" Curious, she followed along. When Harry opened the door to let her pass through, she nearly fell down in shock upon seeing Snape sleeping on one of the beds. She looked from him to Harry, who was now looking quite proud of himself, and shook her head in disbelief.

"How… never mind." She said weakly.


End file.
